My Life So Far

Presentation to Hospice of NW OHIO

Watercolor painting donated to Hospice

To make a long story short, my 95 year old mother was suffering from cancer. I lost my job in September, 2007 and started going over to take care of my mom and keep her home clean. That went on for almost 3 weeks and then the craziness happened. It was the day after Thanksgiving, 2007. Two of my brothers had been in town to see her and have Thanksgiving dinner with us. They left on the Friday after Thanksgiving, to my momâ€™s disappointment. That Friday evening we went over to get her ready for bed. We walked into a house that was 52 degrees and no mom in sight. Then I hear a weak voice of her calling out. There she was laying on her bedroom floor, blue in color from the house being so cold. My life and my husbandâ€™s at that point started to come unglued.
The next day, I knew taking care of my mom would be out of my hands. I called Hospice in and they accepted her into their program. We kept her home and I was there 24/7 for a long time. I desperately missed my husband and my dogs. My mother and I hadnâ€™t had a great relationship over the years; she was very demanding and degrading. It was a hardship trying to make my family life on an even keel. I canâ€™t say enough about my husband and the support he continued to give me and my care giving to my mom.
Hospice was wonderful; they were there when I needed them and when she needed them. My mom passed away on March 9th, we had taken her to Hospice after falling 3 times at her home. The Hospice nurse Tina, finally persuaded me it was time for my mom to be admitted to the center. That was one of the hardest moments as I watched them wheel her out of the house she lived in for so many years. I will never forget her pointing her finger at Tina, telling Tina it was her fault that she was being taken out of her home. LOL the only way I can explain my mother is a mean little person in a cute suit. How sad to remember her that way. But that was her.
The first two days I really didnâ€™t think they were going to keep her at the Hospice center, she fought back to be her old self, but if you knew her you knew she would fail fast after the adrenaline stopped. On Wednesday, she started to decline and passed away Sunday, March 9th.
The reason Iâ€™m writing about this, is because it needs to be know how special the staff is at Hospice. There would have been no way I could have kept her home as long as I did. Once she got to the center, the caring continued. Now I needed to figure out away to repay Hospice of NW Ohio.
While my mom was at the center, we met a wonderful service dog by the name of Tanner. Tanner not only brought love to the patience, but he brought so much love to the staff. There was one time I was standing in my momâ€™s doorway. One of the staff members walked out of a patience room, he had a look on his face that I canâ€™t explain. It wasnâ€™t sadness; it wasnâ€™t pain but a look of loss. That staff member got down on the floor and just loved on Tanner. You could see in Tannerâ€™s eye the caring of the staff member. When the loving stopped, the staff member was a different person now. Tanner took that loss away from the staff person.
So how was I going to prepay Hospice and the staff? They are actually talking about retiring Tanner. Light bulb moment, I would do a portrait of Tanner for them. Tanner was delivered to Hospice of NW Ohio on April, 30th. It was a moment I will never forget. The staff was so happy with the portrait. I canâ€™t wait to go back and see where they decided to hang my essence of Tanner. I know this is only a small gesture and in no way really repays them. But if I can tell the world how special Hospice Centers are, how caring the staff is that also is a small gesture but my way of thanking them.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.